The Arkansas Razorbacks may have lost to the Toledo Rockets on Saturday 16-12, but come on… relax Razorback fans. I know the game was tough to watch or listen too, but there are five reasons we don’t need to give up on our boys just yet.
1) In 2014 the University of Indiana pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the season when they went into Columbia and knocked off the then 18th ranked Missouri Tigers. Missouri ,just like Arkansas on Saturday, came in as a couple of touchdown favorites. Well Indiana played the role of Toledo and beat Mizzou 31-27 that night, Tiger fans pretty much thought that their season was over losing to a team who would eventually finish (4-8). They were wrong… Missouri would win eight of their next 10 games eventually making it to the SEC Championship and the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl, which they won. What I’m saying is don’t let one non-conference game define the rest of the season, let them go to work and show you. Every year big teams slip up against smaller schools and still manage to have a great season.
Nov 28, 2014; Columbia, MO, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks head coach Bret Bielema watches play on the sidelines during the second half against the Missouri Tigers at Faurot Field. Missouri won 21-14. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
2) Why would a Coach that appeared in back-to-back Rose bowls leave that team and come to the SEC? He believes in the Hogs and he wanted to take that chance to bring a program back to life.If you pool all of the coaches in the nation and asked them, “Would you actually tweet fans and apologize for the way your team had played?”
The answer is probably very few if any, except for Coach B.
That showed a lot of character by Coach B. He knows that the fans are upset when the team doesn’t play up to standards. He came here to make an impact, not be impacted.
3) The Arkansas running game led by Alex Collins is still there! Yes, Jonathan Williams is hurt and it’s a bad situation but , we still have the biggest line in all of football and a running back who is averaging close to 100 yards per game. Texas Tech is pretty weak versus the run. They were ranked 124th in the preseason for average rushing yards allowed per game. We still have all the pieces to turn this team into a dominant rushing team.
4) The rest of the season the Hogs will not have to step foot in War Memorial Stadium. That means no more terribly played games where we almost lose to Samford, or actually lose to Louisiana- Monroe. Thank you Lord the rest of the home games for Arkansas are at Donald W. Reynolds Stadium! All time the Hogs are 168-84-2 at home. That is almost 70% of all games they play there they win. I like those odds.
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5)
Its gut check time. Now is the time where the Razorbacks can actually decide if they want to be a good team. Being nationally embarrassed as an SEC West team has to strike a chord in the players hearts, but now we get to see how the team reacts, do they man up ? or do they curl up? Last year after Mizzou lost to Indiana they actually went to work and became the eventual East champions.When Ohio State lost to Virginia Tech, they reeled off 13 wins in a row to win the National Championship. Both of those could be Arkansas! It really just depends on how they decide to play Saturday against Texas Tech. This Saturday pretty much determines if Arkansas will make a bowl game this year or spiral down like the John L. Smith year.
I know it’s one game, but it’s hard to get on any kind of social media and see “true” Razorback fans downing the team. Don’t give up on them and abandon ship just yet. I have faith they’ll go Hog wild the rest of the season.